The society that many of us know is incredibly young when you consider how long it took to create it. Throughout our history, we have fought to survive and have experienced many disasters, which are one of the reasons that all religious texts preach the birth of children. This is logical - while we were developing, it was important to maintain the population size. But now we are faced with the opposite problem: an overpopulation crisis. In fact, overpopulation is a very interesting topic, since for the first time in the history of our species, the survival of humanity depends on the ability to restrain reproduction, not increase it. But is there any way to solve this problem?
Why is overpopulation of the Earth bad?
It is important to understand that overpopulation of any kind of living creature will have a devastating effect on the environment, and the same goes for humans. As families continue to have three or more children, the population continues to grow. Overpopulation has far-reaching consequences - ironically, the more people on Earth, the closer we come to final extinction. In this article, you will find out why we encountered this problem at all and what solutions are proposed by scientists from the Conservation Institute.
Environmental impact
The most obvious effect of overpopulation is the damage we do to the environment. The more people on the planet, the more resources we use and the more space we need. When we use more resources and space, wildlife suffers. Each person contributes in one way or another to the global pollution of the environment, even if we consider only food and transport. Food and water are two other environmental concerns when discussing overpopulation. Many people already lack access to food and water today, and the growing population means more and more people need to feed. We are destroying natural habitats for farmland. If the population continues to grow, we will have no natural resources left.
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Poverty growth
The more people live in a country, the fewer jobs are available for its citizens. Meanwhile, demand for housing will grow and supply will decline. The cost of living will rise along with the unemployment rate and the number of homeless people. When this happens, crime will rise sharply, since many simply do not see another way out of this situation. The cost of products will also rise, and healthcare services will be virtually non-existent for those who cannot afford them.
International conflicts
As populations grow, some countries will adapt better than others. When food and water become the most valuable commodities, conflict is inevitable. It doesn't matter how generous you think you are. When deciding whether to feed their family or give food to their neighbor, most people will choose to feed their family. Countries will become more isolated and conflicts will escalate.
How to solve the problem of overpopulation of the planet
The good news is that the future is not entirely bleak, as there are steps you can take to limit global population growth. Here are some of the ways that scientists believe will help combat overpopulation:
Sex education
Sex education is the most effective strategy for reducing teenage and unwanted pregnancies. The more children know about safe sex, the less likely it is to have an unplanned pregnancy at an early age. After all, in the Internet age, we cannot protect children from information. They will find it themselves, no matter how hard the adults try.
Access to contraception
There are many unplanned pregnancies all over the world, as women and men simply do not have access to contraception. Birth control is extremely difficult to implement in some parts of the world, and when combined with a lack of sex education, it is very common to result in an unplanned pregnancy. But even when contraception is available, not everyone can afford it. One solution to the problem could be the introduction of a system in which people can get contraception free of charge or at a significant discount.
Access to education
Sex education is of the utmost importance, but it goes hand in hand with general education. The relationship between education and lower fertility rates is particularly evident among women, as evidenced by statistics from both developed and developing countries. Education opens up many opportunities for women and the realization that children can simply not have if you don't want to. However, the level of reproductive violence in many developing countries is prohibitively high.
For example, in Russia, millions of women become mothers simply because “it is so customary,” and parents, the state and society often demand it. The situation is such that the poorest people in the world have the most children. Access to education can change that.
Education and information
Educating people about the overpopulation crisis is one of the simplest and relatively cheap solutions to overpopulation. We must start talking about where humanity is heading in schools and make sex education a compulsory discipline. Even if someone dreamed of a big family, he can change his mind, because the more people decide to have one or two children instead of three or four, then in the future we will be in a much better position. Having a large family has many benefits, but unfortunately it is environmentally irresponsible. Many researchers agree that overpopulation is one of the biggest threats facing humanity and this problem cannot be ignored. If, of course, we want a bright future for our children and grandchildren.
Lyubov Sokovikova